Boeing Co. said Wednesday it expects to deliver at least 25 of its delay-prone 787 Dreamliner and 747-8 jumbo jets this year, but doesn’t anticipate that the planes will give any near-term lift to its financial results.

Production cost over-runs and penalty payments to pacify airline customers mean Boeing won’t make money off those deliveries, executives told analysts and reporters during a quarterly earnings call, admitting the Chicago-based aerospace manufacturer remains concerned about the overall profitability of the best-selling Dreamliner. Get the full story »

Airbus on Tuesday announced what it called the biggest jet order in commercial aviation history with a $15.6 billion deal to sell 180 planes to Indian budget carrier IndiGo including the first orders for a revamped model.

The deal comes as the European planemaker tallies its plane orders for 2010, but will not enter the order book in time to decide whether Airbus will come from behind to win a fiercely contested annual battle for most sales against Chicago-based Boeing. Get the full story »

Boeing Co. notched 530 net commercial aircraft orders and delivered 462 airplanes during 2010 as the commercial aerospace market continued to rebound along with the global economy.

The Chicago-based aerospace company saw an improvement in its key commercial airplane business, which accounts for more than half of Boeing’s revenues, despite continued problems with its 787 and 747-8 aircraft programs.

Aircraft sales rebounded strongly from 2009, when Boeing gained just 142 net orders and scrambled to help airline customers obtain financing and to prevent them from canceling orders. Get the full story »